Nablopomo - April

Dear April Nablopomo-

I didn't do very well in the letter department. I think I'm going to take a month off of Nablopomo. I'm still in the Blog365 project, so I will post daily, but the whole theme thing is not as easy as I thought it would be.

I'm reading lots of stuff on blogs and art right now, so hopefully, that will help me reinvigorate for the blogs I'm working on.

Happy April!

I'm in Oakland

The hotel's computer doesn't type @ so I wasn't able to log in when I wanted to. Too much going on to really be able to say much right now. More later.

Out of town, last minute

I have to go out of town. I just found out today. No friends are there. :( I wish there were. Oh, well. I guess a change of scenery isn't such a bad thing. Right? Right?

I hope the hotel has internet.

Bad form?

Dear Reader(s):

Is it bad form to change the name of your blog?

I just made this one up because I couldn't think of anything with PINK in the title that wasn't already taken. Ha.

I will think about it. I know there has to be something I can come up with that represents me better or is more interesting...

Although I have noticed that if you have an "A" in the title and join a blogroll, people come and visit. I don't know how the Zs do. I should find out.

In honor of National Poetry Month

When I die, I want your hands on my eyes:
I want the light and the wheat of your beloved hands
To pass their freshness over me once more:
I want to feel the softness that changed my destiny.

I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep
I want your ears still to hear the wind, I want you
To sniff the sea’s aroma that we loved together
To continue to walk on the sand we walked on.

I want what I love to continue to live,
And you whom I love and sang above everything else
To continue to flourish, full-flowered:

So that you can reach everything my love directs you to,
So that my shadow can travel along in your hair,
So that everything can learn the reason for my song.

Pablo Neruda

Letter to April NaBloPoMo

Dear April NaBloPoMo-

I suck at the themes. I get all geared up and then I get busy or my mind goes elsewhere. I KNOW I could have done this better this month, but I was determined to write letters. When I started, suddenly, all the letters I have ever wanted to write dried up in my head.

I read a bunch of other blogs and they were going by letter in the alphabet...I wish I had thought of it sooner. I thought I had to stick with writing letters to someone instead of changing midstream. Sigh.

I'm glad I decided to join this month to keep me going, but I wish I had done a better job with the theme...

Jean

P.S. I am sick of politics. Will November never come?

Lessons

Ramblings...

First off, I am still disappointed that I started "Jean's Reading Renaissance" and I still have not really done any significant reading. How frustrating is that?!? I have just been too tired.

The other thing I wanted to just record here is that April has been a challenging month for me here on the blog. I think I am exhausted by the political scene - I listen to too much progressive radio and I think it gets me down sometimes. I think that kind of stuff really sinks into the subconcious and has a profound effect.

I love the idea of writing letters and the idea of focusing on a letter, I wish I had done better. I'm going to try to do better for the rest of the month. I just haven't been able to focus on anything. My mind has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime and sometimes I find it hard to marry the two...to ahve a post about the water crisis in the world and then complain about my day...So that sometimes hinders my creative mind because I feel like I can't reconcile the two things. It seems silly because I see it all the time in the blogs that I read and it isn't jarring to me.. I think it is kind of like mixed tapes - sometimes you start on one mood and then the songs lead you in another direction and sometimes the direction is happy and sometimes it isn't...

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me.

Letter to Oprah

Dear Oprah-

You are an amazing woman. I love that you have taken your incredible business sense and your ability to connect to people and put it to use in meaningful ways. "The Big Give" was an inspiration to anyone who watched. We can all do more.

Thank you for sharing your gifts and your passion. The world is a better place with you in it.

Jean

No letter today...

David archuleta - Imagine

Allies Retreat 08

"More than anything, an Allies retreat is a chance for Deaf people, CODAs and Interpreters to understand each other in a new way. We begin our discussions acknowledging that we experience conflicts. We acknowledge that the field of interpreting is, above all, about working with people who are Deaf. We are committed to creating a space to listen and learn from what Deaf people want to tell us. And we are committed to recognizing that we must examine how we have responded to the needs of our diverse colleagues and consumers.

We believe that talking to each other can make a difference. We're committed to having challenging conversation in a supportive environment. We believe that by honoring each of our cultures, we can talk to each other more effectively. We believe that our difficulties often come from assumptions about what we know (and don't know). By practicing dialogue with each other, with the support of our peers at the retreat, we can transform the sometimes challenging experience of Deaf/CODA/hearing relationships." - Quote from Allies 08 information posted on YouTube.

For more information go to www.allies08.com

D-PAN interpretation of "Beautiful"


To support D-PAN, please go to www.D-PAN.com

Imagining a different path...

DPAN Interpretation of "Waiting for the World to Change"


I was at an "Allies" workshop for Deaf people, CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) and hearing interpreters. The goal of the weekend was transformation and possibilities for walking a new path as an ally.

Blast from the Past - 1984

lets go crazy

Musical letter

like a prayer – blonde ambition 1990

Ahhhh...

btvs goodbye to you

Tax Day

Dear IRS-

They are done. Mailed. Before midnight. Yay.

Dear SL

Dear SL-

Thank you so much for introducing me to the blog world. Even though it is not reading literature or a good juicy novel, it has opened my world and has allowed me to go back to a creative space that I thought I had abandoned. The other thing that I have been inspired to do by this journey is to be a better person and to explore ways to make the world a better place.

Clearly, I have been spending far too much time wandering from blog to blog, but I am enjoying it thoroughly.

So, thank you. In honor of my signing up for a Google Reader, I am going to post my blogaffairs that I have been conducting under cover of Sundays and without leaving many comments.

Wishing you creative days and lots of positive energy.

Jean

Letter to Water Drinkers

Dear Fellow Water Drinker-

Many of us take for granted that we could drink 8 glasses of clean water each day and whether we do that or we don't do that, it seems criminal that we don't even really realize (most of us) that so many people across the globe don't have the option... Even if they could drink 8 glasses of water, it probably isn't clean the way ours is.

So consider getting involved in providing clean water to those who don't have it. You can be pretty passive about it - just give money, buy water that will benefit a charity, etc.

Here are two great videos to give you more information:

Charity:Water founder


Jennifer Connelly - Charity:Water


Please help out if you can.

Letter from the past

So, I have been dealing with this whole storage space situation for several weeks now. Today, I went over to transfer the contents of some boxes into other containers as the boxes were old and squashed from the weight of 10+ years and other boxes that were old and squashed resting on top of them.

As I opened a big box that had been in the far back corner on the bottom (the last box I could get to when the space was full), I saw a bunch of spiral notebooks from when I was in college...and as I pulled them out, a thought occurred to me that I might find the notebook I had been searching for for many years - one I hoped to find and one I was afraid to find.

I found it.

It is a simple black spiral notebook. If you knew me at all, you would know that the color, in and of itself, is unusual for me. All the other notebooks were purple or had unicorn pictures or other designs on them, or at the very least, they were colored and had a bunch of notes to myself written on the cover. Not this one. Just plain black.

There were a bunch of loose pages in the front, but I was not interested in those. I turned to the very first page (also unusual for me to write on the first page - I always wanted a page or two blank in the front for privacy..if someone picked it up, they might not read it if it looked blank).

"Thursday, June 26, 1986 (technically June 27 at 12:09am)

The doctor told Roby he has AIDS. He called him at work and told him over the phone. Roby called me. He was crying so hard he could hardly talk. I picked him up from work. I felt so helpless. I didn't know what to say or how to act. All I wanted was to take him in my arms and hug all his pain away. But I couldn't. I felt a huge wall between us. I tried to put my arm around him, but he seemed to move away. I feel numb. I didn't cry until he told Jenny (M.) and Susan. I felt like I had to be strong. Susan fell apart and sobbed. Later in her apartment, she and I talked. I cried and she somehow knew that I needed for her to tell me it was okay. We talked for awhile. Roby loves her so much. So do I. Even Jenny and I talked. She held me when I cried and held my hand for a while. I felt as if we were friends just then.

I don't know how to feel. This has got to be a mistake. It has to be. I know this is selfish, but I don't want to lose him, I can't. Not now. Not ever."

I remember that I went to bed right after I wrote that. I put the notebook in my nightstand and turned off the lights. Later, my mother came home and checked on me as I was rarely in bed that early. She gave me a kiss on the forehead and closed my door after I assured her that I was ok.

The night that changed my whole life.

Someone Else's letters

I was reading a blog (looking for something else) when I happened across this posting:

http://godboxcafe.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-positive-note-to-balance-things-out.html#links

The sweetness and kindness made me cry. Or I'm just getting soft in my old age (or was I always a softie?)

In lieu of my own letter, which I didn't write today, please read this one. And think about doing something kind for someone in need.

Tonight I interpret "Sweeney", tomorrow, I return to my letters in April

Dear KGV-

I just saw the production of "Sweeney Tood" - the revival. Interestingly, I have the video of the version with Angela Landsbury and George Hearn (I prefer Len Cariou). I have always loved that version - particularly Angela Landsbury...

After seeing this version - very conceptual and focused solely on the music (the actors are brilliant singers and talented musicians - playing, singing and acting in a small space), I watched the video again and it was remarkably old fashioned.. I was suprised. But I liked the show.

If I had never seen it before, I might have different feelings about it, but as I have been listening to "Sweeney" on and off for 20 years, I think I felt pretty comfortable not having to see the blood-letting.

Jean

What I have been working on instead of letters here..

Letter to Visitors

Dear Blog Reader-

Welcome to my blog. I haven't been blogging very long and it is all still pretty new to me. I hope something that I have to share or say or show is interesting, inspiring or just funny for you.

Please leave a comment if you would like to. If not, that's ok too. I hope there are a couple of folks out there. I would love to read your blogs if you have one.

I will write more to you later, but I just wanted to say "Hello!"

Sincerly

Jean

Remembering MLK - continuation

I was reading the paper today and found a really moving commentary piece written by Leonard Pitts Jr. It is called, "Remembering MLK: In tragedy's wake, greatness and grace". Please go and read it. I will write a letter later.

Hope Revolution

Please go to this site and watch this lovely video...

http://www.hoperevo.com/blog/

I love the idea of leaving hopeful messages out there for people to find. I wanted to start the generosity.org concept at work (hoping it would go out to the world from there) but I ran into some less-than-hopeful issues and dropped the idea. I think I'm going to try again.

Everyone needs a few kind words.

Funny!

I know this is an ad for insurance, but I laughed out loud when I saw the picture, so I just had to post it.

A Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his death

Dear Dr. King-

I am not African American and I cannot understand how it must feel to be judged and oppressed because of my skin color. Regardless of that, you have always been one of my heroes. You died when I was less than a year old, but I always felt your presence in the world from the time I was a child.

Today it has been 40 years since your assassination. I watched videos of your life and the last days and the years have not assuaged the grief that I feel for the loss of your life, the loss of the leader who could actually lead the United States to the next level. Your dream is still not a reality. Even as Barak Obama is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President, it is so obvious that we are not where we need to be. Poverty, oppression, racism and the disenfranchisement of black individuals and other minority people are still the norm. Some things have changed, but not enough.

As I sat at my computer today, listening to your voice speak prophetically that you had "been to the mountain top" and "seen the other side" that you "might not get there with you", I wept. Wept as if it was the first time you moved me so. It is not the first time. Nor the last.

In honor of your life, I am posting videos to commemorate your dream, your life, your great work and hope. It is difficult not to try to imagine what would be different in our world if you had not been taken from us.

In loving memory

Jean


"The Last Days of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (from MSNBC)



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last speech



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's "I have a Dream" speech from the March on Washington

Letter to Self, part II

Dear Self-

I just want to congratulate you on taking the day off tomorrow. I know it isn't easy when there is so much going on, but I think it is important to stay fresh and not let yourself be taken advantage of. Two days off will be rejuvinating and make next week easier to get through.

Good job!

Jean

Letter to Self

Dear Self-

Please go home earlier from work. The work will still be there tomorrow and you will feel better. When you stay for 12 or 14 hours, you get less done and you get depressed because you have no life except for work, sleep and "Buffy" episodes you can't finish because you fall asleep in the first 3 minutes of the show.

Do us all a favor.

Sincerely
Jean

Letter to G.

Dear G-

I will not work 21 days in a row without a day off. I will not work 6 days a week whenever your whim tells you that I should work. I will not go another 3 years without a wage increase of any kind. I don't mind being "flexible" but it is important for you to know that even flexible things break. Sometimes, if you wear all of the elasticity out of an item, it just snaps and usually, snapping happens in a quick, unexpected and not so soft way.

I love my job. I love what I do and how much I have grown. I do not love that I am not valued as much as I would like to be. I love that I am challenged everyday and that I feel like I'm not naturally good at this. I have always been good at everything and this is SO MUCH WORK. That is not a bad thing. I am never bored. Not once in 3 years. But I am burned out. And that is sad.

I hope we can come to some kind of understanding about this weekend thing.

Sincerely-
Jean